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| Jury decision another milestone on road to new EPO building in Rijswijk The EPO took a major step forward in the tender procedure for the design and construction of its new 'Main Building' in Rijswijk (The Hague) when its jury met recently to select the three bids which will enter the second stage of this procedure. The jury is composed of the EPO President, four of its vice-presidents, the Chairman of the Administrative Council, the Chairman of the Local Staff Committee, the acting Mayor of Rijswijk and two architects as external experts. The following consortia (construction firm and architect) were shortlisted and will now be asked to elaborate on their proposals: BAM Utiliteitsbouw (NL) and Ballast Nedam B&O (NL) with the architect Henning Larsen Architects (DK); Group TBI (NL) with the architects Ateliers Jean Nouvel (FR) and Dam & Partners Architecten (NL); Cordeel Nederland (NL) and Aannemingsmaatschappij CFE (BE) with the architects Group A (NL) and Art & Built (BE). Workshops will be organised to help the three shortlisted consortia to refine their bids. The closing date for submission of the final bids is 4 December. The jury will meet again at the end of January 2013 to select the winning design for recommendation to the Administrative Council. History Following an open international pre-qualification phase, the invitation to tender for the design and construction of the EPO's new office building was officially launched on 23 April. Ten consortia, each comprising an architect's firm, a construction company, engineers, etc., were invited to submit a bid with sketches and a physical model of their proposed design, a series of plans, logistic details and, of course, a cost estimate. The main challenge faced by the consortia is the need to construct the new building - with a planned gross floor area of approximately 80,000 m2 - within the confines of the existing site, while ensuring that all other buildings and facilities remain fully operational throughout the construction period. On 3 July, valid bids were received from eight of the ten consortia invited to take part. Their bids were anonymised to guarantee confidentiality and impartiality and then carefully assessed by an expert committee. The jury then met on 31 July to select the best three bids for consideration in the second, non‑anonymous stage of the tender. write your comments about the article :: © 2012 Construction News :: home page |